Dr. Larry Churchill, a distinguished medical ethicist at Vanderbilt University, will deliver the 7tth Annual George Connor Lecture on January 31, 3 p.m. in the Benwood Auditorium, UTC Engineering, Math, and Computer Science Building located at the corner of Vine and Palmetto Streets.
Churchill’s topic will be “What is Really at Stake in Health Care Reform?” Sponsored by the Connor Society, the lecture is free and open to the public. A reception will follow in the lobby.
Churchill, a Ph.D., is the Ann Geddes Stahlman Professor of Medical Ethics in the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Educated at Rhodes College (BA, 1967, Phi Beta Kappa)) and Duke University (M.Div., 1970, summa cum laude; Ph.D., 1973), Churchill entered the field of medical ethics and humanities as a member of the first class of Fellows of the Institute for Human Values in Medicine during 1973-74.
Before joining the faculty at Vanderbilt, Churchill was Professor and Chair, Department of Social Medicine, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where in 1999 he was cited for excellence in the teaching of medical students in the pre-clinical years.
Churchill has published widely in several areas of medical ethics, including research with human subjects, end of life decision-making, and social justice and the ethics of U.S. health policy.
His major works include Rationing Health Care in America, Self-Interest and Universal Health Care (selected a Choice Magazine Outstanding Academic Book for 1995), and Ethical Dimensions of Health Policy.
His work in ethics and health policy was the basis for his election to the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences in 1991. Churchill also conceived, helped to edit and wrote an “Introduction” for Parting: A Handbook for Spiritual Care Near the End of Life, which in 2005 won a “Best of the Best Award” from university presses, and has been translated into several languages.
Churchill’s current projects include research on the interplay between religious and genetic understanding of human nature and personal choice, and a study on the distinguishing features of healing relationships in health care.
In 2008 Churchill was elected to the Academy for Excellence in Teaching at Vanderbilt, for his work in developing a highly regarded humanities and social sciences curriculum for medical students.
Churchill’s address continues the Connor Society’s tradition of presenting outstanding lecturers to honor the life of George Connor, the late Guerry Professor of English at UTC. Past speakers in the Connor Lecture series include theologian and author Dr. Frederick Buechner, novelist and teacher Allen Wier, and Episcopal priest Barbara Brown Taylor.
For more information, please call 423/425-4627.
